Here at MerchantService.com we love answering questions from potential customers looking around for a merchant service provider. One of the questions we hear the most is, “what sets you apart from other merchant services providers?” The simple answer is our personal approach that we use with all our customers. We do not see our merchants as just another number; we have a growing family of merchants that we work with to ensure their best interests are always represented – both now and well in the future.

We know the economy’s tough right now and every penny matters. So we use a consultative team approach to work with our merchants and increase their bottom line profits. Whether it means purchasing a used credit card machine over a newer model credit card machine; optimizing sales with mobile credit card processing; or simply ensuring they’re always receiving optimal rates when accepting electronic payments, we’re dedicated to helping our family of merchants succeed.

Additionally, we have a full-disclosure policy about costs and fees. We have no hidden costs, no hidden fees, and no rate increases. We haven’t raised our rates since we started our company in 1995. So what makes a great merchant services provider? It’s the human approach! We will always be available for our merchants whether on the phone or with online chat. Don’t ever hesitate to call us with any questions you may have.

Sarasota, FL – July 13, 2011 – MerchantService.com, a leading merchant services provider of credit card processing, is pleased to announce they have released a new article on their site titled “What Does The Durbin Amendment Mean To Small Business Merchants In America?” This amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was to take effect July 21, 2011, but has been pushed back to October 1, 2011.

The Durbin Amendment originally aimed to have the Fed set a maximum debit card interchange fee of 12 cents per transaction for banks that had $10 billion or more in assets. However, the final interchange fee to come into play in October will be closer to 21 cents per transaction, and in some cases more. The current industry debit credit Interchange fee averages 44 cents.

“Issuing banks are still the “biggest losers”, but not by as much as originally proposed. And merchants remain the winners, yet it’s highly unlikely most merchants will receive the benefit of the savings because of the acquirers pricing strategy” said Gino Kauzlarich, co-founder and owner of merchant services provider, MerchantService.com. And not all debit cards will be affected by the Durbin amendment. Debit cards issued by small banks with less than $10 billion in assets are exempt. This means that there will be a two-tiered merchant services pricing structure.

The so-called Durbin Amendment was originally set to have taken effect on July 21st, 2011. This component of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was to have set a proposed maximum debit card interchange fee of 12 cents for both pin debit and signature card debit transactions, only for banks that had $10 billion or more in assets. This worked out to be a 70% reduction in the average debit card fee ($.44) according to the Fed.

The Final rules issued raised the maximum Interchange fee to $.21 per transaction, with an additional allowance of 5 basis points of transaction value to account for fraud costs. And included an interim proposed rule to allow banks to charge an additional $.01 cent per transaction if they meet certain fraud prevention standards established by the Fed.

Bottom line, Merchant’s remain the winners through these Interchange expenses decreases while issuing banks are still the biggest losers, but not as much as originally feared.

When Do The New Merchant Services Rules Go Into Effect?

The Final rules will go into effect on October 1, 2011. But beware, only a small portion of the nation’s merchant community will receive the benefit of the reduced fees beginning on October 1st. Most of the merchant population is at the mercy of their acquirer’s pricing strategy as to the timing and the amount of reduced fee benefit they actually receive.Read More…

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